The N&O concludes there was no intimidation of witness (my title). . What a POS Paper.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/438757.html
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Honestly Oak, this article is not bad at all.
They were kind of balanced for once, and even ended the article saying the arrest angered the Triangle and the country.
What jumped out at me in that article was that Ben Himan, the lead investigator in the lacrosse case, personally arrested Elmostafa. Nifong tries to pass this off as routine, but I don't think serving warrants is usually done by the lead investigator unless the purpose is to extract information or intimidate the witness.
Lisa Faye Hawkins, who actually pleaded guilty in 2003 to stealing the purses after hiring Elmostafa to drive her to the store, was on Rita Cosby last night (I read elsewhere) and said the cabbie had nothing to do with her theft.
Don't police check on whether a years old warrant is still applicable, i.e. whether/how the case was resolved and if the complaint underlying the warrant still makes sense, before arresting someone?
I disagree completely. They had a copy of his taxi license - so they KNEW where to find him. They couldn't bother to look?
I smell intimidation tactics.